Wandering In The Interval Of Light

Saul Bellow is regarded as one of the most celebrated authors of the twentieth century.He published his last novel Ravelstein at the age of 85.As a Nobel Prize winner,Bellow skillfully uses illness narrative to reveal the human anxieties resulted from complicated social conditions at the turn of the millennium.By using the narratives of illness,Bellow demonstrates not only the historical,political,racial and religious aspects of his times but also his understanding of the world and his humanistic concerns.The whole thesis consists of three parts.Part One Introduction provides information about Saul Bellow and his Ravelstein,supplies a comprehensive literature review,states the reason for this topic and the values of this study,and introduces the theoretical framework of the thesis and the thesis statement.Part Two of the thesis is composed of three body chapters.Chapter One investigates the narratives of sick bodies in Ravelstein,according to three basic types of illness narratives in restitution,chaos,and quest identified by Arthur W.Frank in his The Wounded Storyteller: Body,Illness,and Ethics.Chapter Two interprets narratives of illness as metaphors of social ethics,Jew's trauma and identity anxiety.By demonstrating these metaphors,Bellow criticizes the Holocaust,anti-Semitism and an alienating world where profit is supreme and emotion is lacking.Chapter Three reveals narratives of illness as a testimony of the degraded times in Ravelstein by exploring the insinuation to abnormal society,the therapy for remainder Jews and the perpetual pursuit of identity.Part Three Conclusion aims at revealing the significance of the present study.By employing illness narrative,Saul Bellow reveals the confusion and anxiety of Jewish intellectuals and the whole human beings and shows his concern about the persistence and inheritance of Jewish traits.